This week, Portland Community College received the green light to take possession of property in Columbia County on which it will build a workforce training center. The parcel of land – just over 17 acres – is located north of Wagner Court and east of West Lane Road, in Scappoose. Read more

The Rainier Jr./Sr. High School (RJSHS) swim team is now able to practice in the Briarcliff Pool, located at RJSHS, thanks to funding efforts from Friends of Rainier Pool (FORP). Read more

West Oregon Electric Cooperative (WOEC), a Vernonia-based co-op, which serves residents in Columbia, Clatsop, Yamhill, Tillamook and Washington counties, has recently been approved for an $8.4 million investment in the form of a loan to improve electric infrastructure in West Oregon. Read more

A team of students at St. Helens Middle School (SHMS) has been selected as state finalists for a Samsung Solve For Tomorrow project proposal submitted by the students in Ashely Baylor’s STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics) class. The team is one of four Oregon State fin… Read more

In the statement that was released Tuesday, Dec. 3, Auxier said he and investigators found the use of force was “overwhelmingly justified” and almost certainly saved lives as 32-year-old Michael Thomas Veatch was actively trying to kill innocent civilians when Officer Elijah Merkwan intervened. Read more

The police blotter relates to the public record of incidents as reported by law enforcement agencies. All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Information printed is preliminary and subject to change. Read more

The City of St. Helens is in the middle of a Brownfields assessment, and city residents were recently invited to attend a meeting to witness the progress of the assessment so far. Read more

In order to resolve a legal battle between Grumpy’s Towing, LLC and the City of St. Helens, city leaders motioned Wednesday, Nov. 20 to end the exclusive towing contract with Drake’s Towing & Recovery, which is now set to expire at the end of this year. Read more

The police blotter relates to the public record of incidents as reported by law enforcement agencies. All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Information printed is preliminary and subject to change. Read more

Port of Columbia County Commissioner Nancy Ward is making strides, not only as a new commissioner on the port, but also as the first Columbia County politician to sign the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge. Read more

A report to 911 from the victim of a hit & run lead police in pursuit of a suspect in a stolen car and an ensuing search that lasted over two hours on Thursday, Nov. 21, in Scappoose.  Read more

A Columbia County jail sergeant has retired from the sheriff’s office amid personnel investigations prompted by an internal complaint. Read more

The Port of Columbia County is taking steps toward wetland mitigation, in the hopes that their 837-acre rezone in the works from agricultural to industrial comes to pass. Read more

The Port of Columbia County’s long-sought 837-acre rezone from agricultural to industrial land at Port Westward in Clatskanie is now more likely to happen, after the Oregon Supreme Court denied a petition for review from Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon on Nov. 14. Read more

Our local firefighters dealt with two incidents over the weekend on top of engaging in additional training at Grumpy’s Towing with firefighting students from five other states. Read more

The City of St. Helens has been rejected for the 2019 BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) Transportation Discretionary Grants program, receiving notification from the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday, Nov. 14 according to a press release from the city. Read more

People with a St. Helens Public Library card can now enjoy free wireless internet access at home or on the go thanks to a new mobile hotspot program launched by the Library. Read more

A Rail Safety and Mobility Study is coming to Columbia County, which will support future grant applications as well as serve as a guide for future work on the rail system, according to port documents. Read more

Mark’s Custom Exteriors, located at 58581 S. Columbia River Highway in St. Helens, will be leasing their facility to Columbia Community Mental Health beginning January 1, 2020. MCE will be moving to their new location in Scappoose, at 33374 Scappoose-Vernonia Highway, as of December of 2019. Read more

The City of Rainier and property owners along Fox Creek are still looking for solutions regarding ongoing flooding issues resulting from problems with the Fox Creek culvert system. The creek runs adjacent to Highway 30 and has often flooded homes and businesses in the area due to an undersiz… Read more

The St. Helens community is invited to attend an informational meeting about the St. Helens Brownfields Assessment Program on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in the St. Helens Council Chambers before the regularly scheduled City Council meeting. Read more

Volunteer of the month Read more

The St. Helens School District (SHSD) is suing PBS Engineering and Environmental, Inc. (PBS) for failure to remove all asbestos at the former St. Helens Middle School site during its two contracted periods in 2009 and 2018 to perform asbestos abatement, according to a lawsuit filed on Oct. 2… Read more

The City of St. Helens is continuing to determine the most viable site for the relocation and re-build of a new police station, after the completion of a feasibility study by Mackenzie, Inc. the consultant the city contracted with in March. Mackenzie originally examined four sites for the ne… Read more

The police blotter relates to the public record of incidents as reported by law enforcement agencies. All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Information printed is preliminary and subject to change. Read more

A workshop on “Non-Violent Communication” will be held at the Columbia County Law Library on Wednesday, Nov. 13th from 6-8 p.m. The law library is located at 270 S. First St. in St. Helens. Read more

Final missions of the 32nd Bomb Squadron Read more

Only 29 percent of Columbia County’s registered voters turned out for the Nov. 5 special election ballot measures this week, with a total of 11,384 ballots cast out of 38,481 registered voters. Read more

The new Veterans Memorial Plaza at McCormick Park is now open, after an official dedication ceremony on Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. Read more

Round Two of Hometown Heroes is now in the final stages of sorting through donations in preparation to send out care packages in support of active duty service members and the recently deployed St. Helens National Guard unit. Read more

Last week, a new chapter unfolded in the nearly two-year saga documenting the actions of former St. Helens High School (SHHS) teacher and track coach Kyle Jarred Wroblewski, who was sentenced to four years in prison in August for sexually abusing a student. On Oct. 29, a lawsuit was filed by… Read more

The Dalton Lake area has been designated as the “Dalton Lake Nature Preserve” after a series of meetings held during the week of Oct. 14, 2019. Read more

St. Helens School District (SHSD) has received a grant to conduct a needs assessment on student health services, in the hopes of establishing a School-Based Health Center (SBHC) at St. Helens High School (SHHS). Read more

On Friday, Oct. 25, 2019 at 3 p.m. at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church on Old Portland Road in Scappoose, the event room was packed full of family, friends, firefighters, paramedics and members of the community. A room full of love and admiration for a man who has dedicated nearly four dec… Read more